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Celery Science Experiment

October 14, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky 2 Comments

Celery and food coloring science experiment.

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This classic and colorful celery science experiment is easy to do and has quick results. It works well as a “color-changing celery tree” activity in autumn but is awesome to perform at any time of the year. Your early learner will be thrilled with the speedy and dramatic results of the experiment.

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Supplies To Collect

  • leafy celery stalks
  • glasses or jars
  • food coloring hues
  • pitcher with water
  • knife
  • cutting board
Celery and food coloring experiment supplies.

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Procedure

Cut the bottoms from celery stalks.

Invite your early learner to generously squirt food coloring hues into glasses or jars, and add about 4 centimeters of water to each one.

Have your child place a celery stalk in each container, and use it to stir the liquids.  

Set the jars or glasses with celery on a table or windowsill.

Celery xylem are clearly visible in this closeup photo.

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Invite your little learner to look at the celery after a couple of hours. There will be a noticeable change in celery stalk and leaf colors.

Observe the celery with your child the following day. The leaves will be a darker shade of the water hue their stalk was set in than the day before. Colored lines running from the bottom of the stalks to the leaf tips will be clearly visible.

Add a little more water to each container if needed. Study the celery together a day or two later. The leaves and lines on the stalks will be a deeper color still.

Try the experiment with other food coloring hues. The leafy inner stalks below are dipped in turquoise, purple, and green-colored water.

Celery and food coloring experiment using turquoise, fuschia, and green colored water.

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Admire the transformed celery.

Color change in celery as a result of adding food coloring to the water.

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Variation Of The Celery Science Experiment

Cut off the ends of celery stalks, and split the bottom half of the stalks into two parts.

Celery stalks with ends cut off.

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Invite your child to squirt blue, yellow, and red food coloring into glasses or jars, and mix each hue with a bit of water.

Carefully place a section of one split celery stalk in red water, and the other in yellow. Put the bottom halves of another split celery stalk into yellow and blue water.

Celery stalks placed in two different jars of colored water.

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Observe the celery with your little one after a couple of hours, the next day, and two days later.

You will see colored lines that extend from the bottoms of the celery stalks to the leaves. Each stalk will have lines and leaves in two different colors.

Color change in celery as a result of adding food coloring to the water.

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The Science Behind The Celery Color Change Experiment

Celery stalks lose water through their leaves. More water gets pulled up from their roots to thirsty leaf tips through a network of hollow tubes called xylem.

The normally invisible process of water transport becomes visible when water accessible to celery stalks is colored.

Color change in celery as a result of adding food coloring to the water.

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The little dots on these celery slices are xylem tubes.

The colored dots on these celery slices are xylem tubes that transport water.

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Color change in celery as a result of adding food coloring to the water.

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Additional variations of this celery science experiment are featured at untamedscience.com.

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You may also like:

Reptile Egg Science

Reptile egg science activities. Make a rubbery reptile egg and use turtle and snake figurines with egg matching play mats.

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Corn Theme Activities

Corn theme activities perfect for autumn. Sensory and art setups inspired by a corn maze.

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Don’t forget to share this post on Pinterest or your favorite social media channel. Sharing is caring!

Celery and food coloring science experiment.

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© Annette Kaminsky October 14, 2020

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Filed Under: autumn, gardening, science, sensory, trees Tagged With: celery, color, experiment

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Comments

  1. Aaron Plank says

    December 25, 2020 at 8:36 am

    I take celery juice on empty stomach regularly because celery juice has amazing benefits on our body health if it is taken regularly in the morning.

    Moreover, Celery juice is beneficial for hair growth as it contains a high amount of water and minerals which keeps your hair strong and healthy.
    Celery juice is fruitful for hair growth as it keeps your scalp damped and effectively treat dandruff.

    Reply
    • Annette Kaminsky says

      December 25, 2020 at 10:50 am

      Those are interesting facts about celery.

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Annette Kaminsky. I am a preschool teacher who loves to share easy and fun early learning activities. Thanks for visiting my blog. Feel free to stay awhile!

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